General FAQs

No. The California State Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) is the government agency that manages, regulates and operates the state parks. CSPF is an independent non-profit membership organization with a mission to protect, enhance and advocate for our magnificent state parks.

Log in to the My Profile page on the CSPF website. Scroll down to the Preferences area and uncheck the "Accept Postal Mail" box.

You can also email our Member Services Team at members@calparks.org or call them at 415-262-4400. Explain that you'd like to be removed from the mailing list and give your full address as listed on the most recent mailing you received from us. We can either remove you from the list or limit the number of mailings you receive

Since our founding in 1969, CSPF has worked to help enhance state parks with advocacy, educational programs, capital projects, competitive grants, and fundraising, all while building a vast network of park supporters.

We accomplish our mission by building a diverse membership community of passionate park advocates, raising funds to support and protect state parks and to develop programs that serve the public, advocating for adequate funding and sound stewardship policies for parks, mobilizing volunteers to work on behalf of parks, and facilitating educational programs, habitat restoration, land acquisition, and capital improvements.

Membership

Your gift is tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. To calculate the tax-deductibility of your donation, deduct the fair market value of any of the items you may have received in consideration of your contribution. You'll find the fair market value of the benefits you received listed on the acknowledgement letter we send you after you make your donation. If you choose to decline all of the benefits with a listed fair market value, then your contribution is fully tax-deductible.

Discount camping reservations for CSPF members at California State Parks are managed through Reserve America. You will be prompted to enter your discount code during checkout at the Reserve America website. Your discount code can be found by logging into the CSPF website and viewing the Discounts page. The code applies to online reservations only.

Please allow 4-10 weeks from receipt of order for your first issue to arrive. Sunset publishes one double issue (November issue), which counts as two of twelve issues in an annual subscription. Sunset may also publish occasional extra issues.

The Californians Leadership Circle offers a wide range of giving levels and benefits for donors of $1,000 and above. Visit our Californians Leadership Circle page to join or renew and to see a list of benefits. For more information about the Californians Leadership Circle, please call our Development Department at 415-262-4408.

State Park Passes

The price CSPF pays for state park passes tripled last year, so we could no longer afford to include complimentary passes with your member benefits. Instead, we began offering discounted park passes for sale through an online store. It seemed like a good solution, but it didn’t quite work.

We repeatedly heard from members that the system for buying discounted park passes was too complex and confusing. We also heard that many people would prefer we spend less of their membership donation on benefits and put more of their donation to work protecting the state parks we all love.

That’s why we introduced a new, simpler membership program on June 1, 2016.

There are two major changes that took effect in June under the new CSPF Membership Program:

Membership Donations – Now you can join or renew your membership with a gift of any amount of $25 or more. You choose the amount that feels right and reflects your commitment to taking care of state parks and keeping them open to all.

Member Benefits – Membership still comes with benefits like Sunset magazine and our Parklands newsletter. But we no longer offer state park passes as part of the CSPF membership benefits except for members at our Californians Leadership Circle level who renew with an annual gift of $1,000 or more. Leadership Circle members will continue to receive a complimentary Explorer annual park pass.

For those who received 2016 membership renewal notices prior to the change on June 1, 2016 here are few things to know:

Grace Period Through July 31, 2016 – You may renew under the old membership plan until July 31, 2016 and you’ll still receive the 20% discount on a state parks pass.

Online Renewal System Changes on June 1, 2016 – The renewal system on the CSPF website changed to the new program on June 1, 2016 so as of that date you won’t be able to renew under the old program using the online system. However, until July 31, 2016 you can still renew under the old plan through the mail or by calling our Member Services Team at 415-262-4400.

Park Pass Sales – If you renew under the old membership plan by July 31, 2016 you will have 90 days to access the CSPF online pass store to purchase your discounted pass. Going forward, you can purchase park passes at the regular prices on the California Department of Parks and Recreation website: http://store.parks.ca.gov/park-passes/

Park passes can be purchased directly through the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR). Order your pass online at www.parks.ca.gov or call (800) 777-0369. Please note that this purchase is totally separate from a membership contribution to the California State Parks Foundation.

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